EUROPEAN SOUTHERN OBSERVATORY

(ESO) astrophysical organization founded in 1962. Its activities are financially supported and administered by a consortium of eight European nationsBelgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland. The ESO maintains a permanent administrative and technical staff, about half of whom are based at its European headquarters in Garching, Ger., near Munich. In 1965 the ESO established the La Silla Observatory in Chile, located about 600 km (372 miles) north of Santiago at an altitude of 2,400 m (7,870 feet) above sea level. Extensive studies of the southern skies are undertaken at the observatory, which has an array of instruments consisting of 10 telescopes with apertures of up to 3.66 m (144 inches). The facilities are used principally by astronomers from ESO member countries.